Two dead as flood tears through Maryland downtown

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Flooding from torrential rain killed two people in Ellicott City, Maryland, with floodwaters washing through the U.S. town's historic downtown, collapsing a street and sweeping away cars, officials said on Sunday.

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More locally transmitted Zika in U.S. expected: official

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States will likely see more cases of local Zika virus transmission going forward, a U.S. health official warned on Sunday, although it is unlikely to turn into a broader situation as seen in Brazil or Puerto Rico.

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California firefighters hopeful on slowing Big Sur blaze

CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA, Calif. (Reuters) - Firefighters were hopeful of making progress on Sunday in slowing a deadly wildfire that has raged for 10 days near California's Big Sur coast, destroying dozens of homes and forcing hundreds of residents and campers to evacuate.

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Opponents target North Carolina transgender bathroom law

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Reuters) - For 20-year-old Payton McGarry, a transgender man and college student, the North Carolina law barring him from using public bathrooms consistent with his gender identity means a routine part of life now dictates his day.

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Guns and memory of mass shooting collide at Texas campus

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Half a century ago, a sniper perched on a University of Texas tower unleashed a killing spree that left 16 dead, and for the first time since then the school will hold an official memorial for an event that shocked the nation.

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Multiple victims reported from active shooter in Austin, Texas: police

(Reuters) - An active shooter in the Texas capital of Austin has left multiple victims, police said in a message on Twitter early on Sunday as local media reported one person had been killed.

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Fatal shooting of San Diego cop not immediately linked to ambushes

(Reuters) - A shooting that killed one San Diego police officer and wounded another does not appear related to the deadly ambush attacks on law enforcement this month in Texas and Louisiana, the city's police chief said on Saturday.

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Hot air balloon with at least 16 aboard catches fire, crashes, in Texas

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A hot air balloon with at least 16 people on board caught fire and crashed in a pasture near the central Texas city of Lockhart on Saturday, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said.

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Three shot dead at Seattle-area house party

(Reuters) - Three people were killed and another injured in a shooting at a house party in Mukilteo overnight, about 25 miles (40 km) north of Seattle, officials said.

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Two Chicago officers relieved of police authority after shooting

(Reuters) - Two Chicago officers were stripped of their police authority on Friday after a preliminary investigation found they may have violated department policies during a shooting the day before, the department said.

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U.S. court strikes down North Carolina voter ID law

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday struck down a North Carolina law that required voters to show photo identification when casting ballots, ruling that it intentionally discriminated against African-American residents.

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U.S. judge strikes down parts of Wisconsin voter ID law: report

(Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday struck down parts of a Wisconsin law requiring voters to show a photo identification at the polls, as well as other election rules passed by the state's Republican-led legislature, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel newspaper reported.

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New Connecticut school on massacre site blends safety and nature

NEWTOWN, Conn. (Reuters) - When the children of Newtown, Connecticut, report to the new Sandy Hook Elementary School next month, they will enter a building carefully designed to protect them from the unthinkable.

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Trendy Miami neighborhood is first in U.S. with local Zika spread

MIAMI (Reuters) - Christophe and Franziska Lefever were admiring graffiti at an outdoor gallery in a chic Miami arts district on Friday when they learned that the first cases of Zika spread by mosquitoes in the continental United States were contracted in the area.

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Two dead in California crash of medical transport plane

(Reuters) - At least two people died in the crash of a medical transport plane in northern California on Friday after a report of cockpit smoke, authorities and a media report said.

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Minnesota prosecutor adds special attorney to team in black man's shooting

(Reuters) - Minnesota prosecutors who will decide on charges in the fatal police shooting of a black motorist will include a special prosecutor to guarantee independence in the case, a county attorney said on Friday.

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San Diego police say officer fatally shot, another wounded

(Reuters) - A San Diego police officer was fatally shot and another was wounded at a traffic stop late on Thursday, police said on Friday, and a suspect was taken into custody.

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Michigan prosecutor charges six in Flint water scandal: report

(Reuters) - Six Michigan state employees were charged on Friday in connection with dangerous lead levels in the city of Flint's drinking water, the Detroit Free Press reported.

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Four police officers cleared in North Carolina shooting death

(Reuters) - Four North Carolina police officers have been cleared in the fatal shooting of a man last year, according to a local prosecutor, a decision that comes amid a U.S. debate over use of excessive force by law enforcement.

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Chelsea Manning faces discipline for prison suicide attempt: lawyers

(Reuters) - U.S. soldier Chelsea Manning, imprisoned for passing classified files to WikiLeaks, now stands accused of misconduct stemming from her suicide attempt earlier this month and could land in solitary confinement indefinitely, her lawyers said on Thursday.

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Michigan prosecutor to bring new criminal charges in Flint water scandal

DETROIT (Reuters) - The Michigan Attorney General's Office said on Thursday it will bring a second round of criminal charges related to the investigation into dangerous lead levels in the city of Flint's drinking water.

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Dispatch from inside the conventions

(Reuters) - Delegates at both the Republican and the Democratic conventions sported outrageous outfits - but the views from their respective gatherings were a study in contrast.

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New York pharmacy owner, husband plead guilty to large opioid pill scheme

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The owner of two New York City pharmacies and her husband pleaded guilty on Thursday to charges arising out of their roles in what authorities have called one of the largest opioid painkiller diversion schemes ever uncovered in the city.

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Attorney general to attend vigil honoring police in Baton Rouge

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch will travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Thursday and Friday to attend a vigil honoring fallen police officers and meet with community leaders, the Justice Department said.

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Vice president, dignitaries to honor slain Louisiana officers

BATON ROUGE, La. (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Loretta Lynch will address a memorial service in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Thursday to honor three police officers killed this month by a U.S. Marine Corps veteran.

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Central California wildfire destroys 34 homes, forces 350 to evacuate

(Reuters) - Firefighters scrambled on Thursday to contain a deadly wildfire that has forced the evacuation of hundreds of residents and gutted dozens of homes near the coast of central California.

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Baltimore prosecutor drops police charges in Freddie Gray case

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Baltimore's top prosecutor on Wednesday dropped remaining charges against police officers tied to the death of black detainee Freddie Gray, after failing four times to secure convictions in a case that inflamed the U.S. debate on race and justice.

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WikiLeaks releases hacked Democratic National Committee audio files

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - WikiLeaks released files on Wednesday of what it said were audio recordings pulled from the emails of the Democratic National Committee that were obtained by hacking its servers.

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Washington's Union Station briefly evacuated over bomb threat: police

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Police declared an all-clear at Washington's Union Station and allowed people to re-enter the train terminal after a bomb threat on Wednesday forced a brief evacuation.

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Florida identifies two more Zika cases not related to travel

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Florida health department said on Wednesday it is investigating another two cases of Zika not related to travel to a place where the virus is being transmitted, raising the possibility of local Zika transmission in the continental United States.

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U.S. looking into reports of Iranian-American detained in Iran

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Wednesday it is looking into reports that Iran has detained a third U.S. citizen of Iranian descent but declined to provide details.

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Judge frees President Reagan's would-be killer Hinckley

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - John Hinckley Jr., who wounded U.S. President Ronald Reagan and three other people in a 1981 assassination attempt prompted by his mental illness, should be freed after 35 years and released to live with his mother, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday.

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Climate change risk threatens 18 U.S. military sites: study

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rising sea levels due to hurricanes and tidal flooding intensified by climate change will put military bases along the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast at risk, according to a report released on Wednesday.

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Ex-Virginia Tech students indicted in death of 13-year-old girl

(Reuters) - A grand jury indicted two former Virginia Tech students on Tuesday for first-degree murder in the death of a 13-year-old girl, a prosecutor said.

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Transgender student asks U.S. high court to keep out of bathroom case

(Reuters) - Lawyers for a transgender high school student in Virginia asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to keep out of a legal dispute about bathroom rights and allow a lower court ruling in the student's favor to remain in place.

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U.S. report says Tesla driver speeding in fatal Autopilot crash

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A driver killed on May 7 in a crash in a Tesla using the car's Autopilot software was speeding, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said on Tuesday in its preliminary findings.

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Charges dropped against anti-abortion activists for Texas video recording

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A Houston-area prosecutor on Tuesday dropped all charges against a pair of anti-abortion activists indicted for using illegal government identifications to aid in the secret filming of a Texas Planned Parenthood facility, a newspaper reported.

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Firefighters battling California blaze face hot, dry conditions on Tuesday

(Reuters) - Firefighters in drought-hit California who are battling a 50-square-mile wildfire could be hampered by triple-digit heat, wind gusts up to 30 mph and low humidity on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

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Arkansas funeral planned for gunman in Baton Rouge police ambush

(Reuters) - The former U.S. Marine who killed three policemen in an ambush in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, this month before he was fatally shot by police will be buried near his mother's home town in Arkansas, a funeral home owner said on Tuesday.

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Los Angeles police officer hurt during gun fight: police

(Reuters) - A police officer in Los Angeles was injured during a gun fight on the southeast side of the city late on Monday, the department said, though it was unclear if he had been shot.

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Many U.S. states, cities, missing chance of lifetime to borrow

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The 1923 middle school building in Oregon's Corbett School District is so old that horses and trailers were used to dig the basement. It floods every winter, the building has no sprinkler system, and there is asbestos and lead paint in some spots.

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Behind Democrats' email leak, U.S. experts see a Russian subplot

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If the Russian government is behind the theft and release of embarrassing emails from the Democratic Party, as U.S. officials have suggested, it may reflect less a love of Donald Trump or enmity for Hillary Clinton than a desire to discredit the U.S. political system.

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One of New York City's busiest subway lines to shut for 18 months

NEW YORK (Reuters) - One of New York City's busiest subway lines will cease running between Manhattan and Brooklyn for 18 months starting in 2019, transit officials said on Monday, creating a massive service disruption in an already overtaxed system.

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FBI investigates hacking of Democratic Party organization

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the nature and scope of a cyber intrusion at the Democratic National Committee, the agency said on Monday, amid concerns hackers working for Russia are attempting to use the breach to influence the U.S. presidential election.

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Judge bans Uber use of background checks in NY lawsuit

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday banned Uber Technologies Inc and its Chief Executive Travis Kalanick from using information obtained by an investigative firm in a background check of a plaintiff who brought a price-fixing lawsuit.

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Texas deputy, set to retire in September, shot dead at home near Austin

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A Travis County, Texas, sheriff's deputy was shot and killed on Monday after reporting to the department's dispatcher that a suspected robbery was in progress at his suburban Austin house, officials said.

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Two dead, 14-16 wounded in shooting at Florida nightclub: police

(Reuters) - At least two people were killed and 14 to 16 wounded in a shooting at a nightclub in Fort Myers, Florida early on Monday, police said.

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Dallas police job applications surge after fatal ambush attacks

DALLAS (Reuters) - The Dallas Police Department, which was struggling to recruit officers, has seen a surge in job applications after the ambush shooting this month that killed five officers and brought global attention to the Texas city, officials said on Friday.

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Four dead as van collides with bus carrying Dallas Cowboys staff in Arizona

(Reuters) - Four people were killed on Sunday when a bus carrying staff of the Dallas Cowboys football team collided with a van on an Arizona highway, authorities said.

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Los Angeles-area wildfire spreads, motorist found dead

(Reuters) - A huge wildfire in the Los Angeles area spread another 2,000 acres overnight and appeared to have killed a motorist whose remains were found in a charred vehicle in the fire's path, officials said on Sunday.

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California police officer shot at after traffic collision

(Reuters) - A Northern California police officer was shot at while sitting inside a patrol car after a traffic accident, police said on Sunday.

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Iran says detains Iranian-American dual national

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran confirmed on Sunday the detention of an Iranian-American visiting the country, the latest in a string of arrests of dual nationals in the past year.

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Four people, including child, shot dead at Texas home

(Reuters) - Four people, including a child, were shot and killed at an apartment complex in Texas on Saturday, authorities said.

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Seventeen people hurt when Hudson River ferry hits pier in New Jersey

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Seventeen people were injured on Saturday when a ferry crossing the Hudson River from Manhattan hit the dock it was approaching in Jersey City, authorities said.

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Black Lives Matter protest Rio police violence ahead of Olympics

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - American activists from the Black Lives Matter movement marched with Brazilian partners through central Rio de Janeiro on Saturday, to protest police violence before the city hosts the first-ever Olympics in South America next month.

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Tropical Storm Darby nears Hawaii, emergency declared

(Reuters) - Tropical Storm Darby bore down on Hawaii on Saturday, prompting its governor to declare an emergency over a storm expected to make landfall with strong winds and heavy rain later in the day.

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Kerry, on private travel to Nice, to visit American hurt in attack

PARIS (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is in Nice on Saturday "on private business" and will visit an American still hospitalized after a truck driver deliberately plowed into a crowd in the city during Bastille Day celebrations last week.

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Wildfire forces 300 homes to evacuate north of Los Angeles

(Reuters) - Some 300 firefighters were battling a fast-moving wildfire outside Los Angeles early on Saturday that forced the evacuation of about 300 homes, fire officials said.

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Funeral for slain Baton Rouge police officer draws thousands

BATON ROUGE, La. (Reuters) - Police officers from across the United States were among several thousand mourners gathered at a church in Louisiana's state capital on Friday for the first of three funerals for policemen killed this week by an Iraq war veteran.

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Virginia's top court rules against move to restore felons' voting rights: Washington Post

(Reuters) - The Virginia Supreme Court ruled on Friday against Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe's order restoring voting rights to more than 200,000 felons who completed their sentences, the Washington Post reported.

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Former Ku Klux Klan leader Duke runs for U.S. Senate in Louisiana

BATON ROUGE, La. (Reuters) - David Duke, a former leader of the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan, launched his candidacy on Friday for the U.S. Senate from Louisiana, saying white people are threatened in America and that he hears echoes of his views in Donald Trump's rhetoric.

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First baby with Zika-related birth defect born in New York City

(Reuters) - New York City has reported its first case of a baby born with the birth defect microcephaly related to exposure to the Zika virus, health officials said on Friday.

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Convicted spy Pollard urges reversal of U.S. parole conditions

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Jonathan Pollard, a former U.S. Navy U.S intelligence officer convicted of spying for Israel, asked a judge on Friday to overturn restrictive probation conditions imposed when he was released in November after serving 30 years in prison.

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Chicago police officer shot, suspect killed in exchange of gunfire

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A Chicago police officer was wounded and a suspect was fatally shot on Thursday when police responded to a man acting erratically on the city's south side, police said.

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Ex-New York City jail guard union boss pleads not guilty to bribery

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The former union leader for New York City's prison guards and a hedge fund financier pleaded not guilty on Friday to engaging in a bribery scheme in a case linked to a widening federal municipal-corruption investigation.

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Austin policeman being probed after slamming black woman to ground

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Austin, Texas, police on Friday were investigating the circumstances surrounding a traffic stop in which a white officer twice slammed a black woman to the ground while another officer later made racially charged comments.

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U.S. to announce charges over $1 billion healthcare fraud scheme

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department said on Friday it would hold a news conference at 10 a.m. EDT/1400 GMT to announce the filing of charges in connection with a $1 billion health care fraud scheme.

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Discrimination against Muslims an affront of American values: Obama

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Thursday praised the contributions of Muslim immigrants to the United States, saying any effort to discriminate against the Islamic faith plays into the hands of terrorists.

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High water mark: active marijuana ingredient found in U.S. town well

DENVER (Reuters) - Residents of a small farming community in eastern Colorado have been warned to avoid drinking the town’s water after THC, the psychoactive agent in marijuana, was found in one of its feeder wells, authorities said on Thursday.

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NBA pulls All-Star Game from Charlotte over transgender law

(Reuters) - The NBA is moving its 2017 All-Star Game out of Charlotte, North Carolina, given its objections to a state law decried as discriminatory against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, the league on Thursday.

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Forecasts of convention bonanza fall short for Cleveland businesses

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Along a cobblestoned row of restaurants near the Cleveland arena hosting this week's Republican National Convention, the crowds on the sidewalk were shoulder to shoulder.

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Exclusive: White House to review ban on military gear for police - police leaders

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House will revisit a 2015 ban on police forces getting riot gear, armored vehicles and other military-grade equipment from the U.S. armed forces, two police organization directors told Reuters on Thursday.

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U.S. judge suspends Michigan's ban on straight-ticket voting

(Reuters) - A federal judge on Thursday temporarily suspended a Michigan law that abolished straight-ticket voting - the practice of using one mark to vote for all candidates from one party - that was going to take effect in the November general election.

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Texan gets one-and-a-half years in prison for running bitcoin Ponzi scheme

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Texas man was sentenced to one-and-a-half years in prison on Thursday for operating a bitcoin-related Ponzi scheme that prosecutors say resulted in the first U.S. criminal securities fraud case related to the digital currency.

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Texans may use postcard, affidavit for voter ID after court faults law

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Some Texas voters may need to show a state postcard listing them on the election roll to cast ballots in November elections after a U.S. appeals court found the state's voter ID was discriminatory, specialists said on Thursday.

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Florida investigators to lead probe of North Miami police shooting

NORTH MIAMI, Fla. (Reuters) - The police chief in North Miami, Florida, said on Thursday he has asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to lead an investigation into a police shooting of a black behavioral therapist seen in a video with his hands in the air.

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Video shows black man with hands up before Florida police shooting

NORTH MIAMI, Florida (Reuters) - A black employee of a group home who was shot by police in North Miami, Florida, said he was more worried about his autistic patient than himself before he felt the sting of a bullet in his leg.

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Eighteen protesters arrested in Cleveland after scuffle with police

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Cleveland police arrested 18 protesters on Wednesday after scuffling with demonstrators who tried to set an American flag on fire near the crowded entrance to the arena where Republicans made Donald Trump their presidential nominee, officials said.

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Justice Dept. to announce significant antitrust matter on Thursday

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and other Justice Department officials will make a make a significant antitrust announcement on Thursday at 11 a.m. EDT, the department said.

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Hours-long standoff with would-be N.Y. bomber ends with arrest

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City police on Thursday ended an hours-long standoff with a man suspected of causing a bomb scare then barricading himself inside a sport utility vehicle, forcing police to shut a major mid-Manhattan shopping area and traffic circle.

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Guantanamo judge nixes Sept. 11 suspect's bid for new lawyers

FORT MEADE, Md. (Reuters) - A Yemeni man facing charges relating to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States had his bid to fire his court-appointed lawyers denied again by a judge on Wednesday at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

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Massachusetts attorney general bans 'copycat' assault weapons

(Reuters) - Massachusetts will ban the sale of "copycat" assault-style weapons similar to those increasingly used in mass shootings, state Attorney General Maura Healey said on Wednesday.

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U.S. clears 'Guantanamo Diary' author for release

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Mauritanian prisoner who wrote a best-selling memoir about his long ordeal at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo has been cleared for release, his lawyers and a U.S. official said on Wednesday.

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U.S. appeals court finds that Texas voter ID law is discriminatory

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday ruled that a Texas law requiring voters to show a government-issued form of photo identification before casting a ballot is discriminatory and violates the U.S. Voting Rights Act.

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Police feeling under siege after attacks: Attorney General

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said on Wednesday that American police officers were feeling under siege following the recent attacks in Dallas and Baton Rouge and that the Justice Department was offering training as one way to help.

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White House candidate Trump aims to put rapport with Pence on display

(Reuters) - Freshly minted as his party's choice for the White House, Republican Donald Trump will make a display of solidarity on Wednesday with his running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, a social conservative who is at odds with Trump on many issues.

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U.S. charges two HSBC executives over forex-related scheme

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A senior manager at HSBC Holdings Plc has been arrested in New York and charged along with a former foreign exchange executive for engaging in a scheme to defraud one of the bank's clients in a $3.5 billion currency transaction.

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Two New York officers caught in crossfire, not targeted: police

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two New York City police officers who were first said to have been shot at while on foot patrol were not targeted in the shooting, police said on Wednesday.

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Bikers ride through Baton Rouge in support of fallen police

Several hundred bikers gathered in Baton Rouge on Tuesday and rode in a procession to the city's police headquarters in a show of support for the policemen shot and killed by a gunman at the weekend.

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Wisconsin voter identification law eased for November election

(Reuters) - Wisconsin voters who do not have photo identification will be able to vote in November's presidential election, a judge ruled on Tuesday, the latest development in a long fight over a state law Democrats say is aimed at keeping minorities from the polls.

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Florida health officials investigate possible non-travel case of Zika

(Reuters) - Florida health officials said on Tuesday they are investigating a case of Zika virus infection that does not appear to have stemmed from travel to another region with an outbreak.

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Trump narrows gap with Clinton as Republicans rally in Cleveland: Reuters/Ipsos

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump narrowed his deficit to Democratic rival Hillary Clinton to 7 percentage points from 15 points late last week, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday,

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Prosecutors say leader of Oregon standoff plotted jail break

(Reuters) - A federal judge was expected to rule on Tuesday on bids by two brothers who led the armed occupation of a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon to be freed ahead of their trial, despite assertions by prosecutors that one of them was caught making plans for a jail break.

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Three injured as crane collapses on New York bridge: officials

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A large construction crane collapsed on a busy New York bridge on Tuesday, injuring at least three people and snarling traffic in both directions, county officials said.

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Mountain goat drowns trying to escape photo-taking crowd in Alaska

(Reuters) - A mountain goat drowned after photo-taking onlookers crowded the wild animal at a boat harbor in Seward, Alaska, and it leaped from rocks into the ocean, an official said on Tuesday.

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Shots heard near police vehicle by Republican convention: police

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Gunshots were heard near a police transportation vehicle by the site of the Republican National Convention on Tuesday, police sources said. No injuries were reported.

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New York alleges in lawsuit Volkswagen executives covered up diesel cheating

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior executives at Volkswagen AG including its former chief executive covered up evidence that the German automaker had cheated on U.S. diesel emissions tests for years, New York state charged on Tuesday in a civil lawsuit against the company.

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Republicans to nominate Trump on day devoted to economy

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Buoyed by a grand Las Vegas-style entrance at his party's national convention, Donald Trump hopes to bolster Republican Party unity when congressional leaders take the stage on a day focused on the U.S. economy.

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In some U.S. cities, police push back against 'open-carry' gun laws

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tents, ladders, coolers, canned goods, tennis balls and bicycle locks are banned in the area surrounding the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

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U.S. police deaths build momentum for law to treat attacks as hate crimes

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When the U.S. Congress returns in September from a summer recess, it is expected to consider legislation called the Blue Lives Matter Act that would make killing a police officer a hate crime, a step first taken by Louisiana earlier this year.

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Protesters face off in downtown Cleveland, separated by police

(Reuters) - Protesters for and against Trump faced off in a plaza a few blocks from the site of the Republican National Convention in downtown Cleveland on Monday, shouting slogans at each other but avoiding physical confrontation.

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Obama administration asks U.S. Supreme Court to rehear immigration case

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a last-ditch effort to revive a White House plan to protect up to 4 million immigrants from deportation, the Obama administration on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rehear a case on which the eight-member court was split 4-4 last month.

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Presidential candidate Clinton promises to prosecute police killers

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton promised on Monday to bring the "full weight of the law" against people who kill police officers if she becomes the next U.S. president after two recent episodes of gunmen slaying police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge.

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U.S. officials working to restore public trust in police: attorney general

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Monday strongly condemned the weekend slaying of three Louisiana police officers and said federal authorities were working to help restore public trust in police following a series of violent incidents.

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On convention eve, Trump team confident of smooth path to nomination

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - As Republicans meet in Cleveland this week to anoint Donald Trump as their candidate for president, senior aides to the outspoken New York businessman are confident they have thwarted a rebellion aimed at denying him the nomination.

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Open carry gun rights cause jitters at Republican convention

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Even gun rights advocates are questioning whether people should be allowed to carry rifles and handguns during protests at this week's Republican National Convention in Cleveland in the wake of the shootings of six police officers in Baton Rouge.

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Baton Rouge: A city divided between police and the policed

(Reuters) - Before the killing of three law enforcement officers on Sunday and the fatal shooting of a black man by police earlier this month, Baton Rouge was a city divided between the police and the policed.

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Police union: open carry of guns should be suspended at Republican convention in Cleveland

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - The head of the Cleveland police union on Sunday urged Ohio's governor to declare a state of emergency and to suspend laws allowing the open carrying of firearms during the Republican National Convention, after the shooting of six police officers in Louisiana.

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In U.S. cities hit by killings, shared concerns over cops' tactics, race

(Reuters) - Nekima Levy-Pounds, president of the Minneapolis chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, compares the city's mostly white police department to "an occupying force" when its officers go into black neighborhoods.

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Police responding to officers shot in Baton Rouge

(Reuters) - Multiple police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, were shot on Sunday morning, a department spokesman said, as the country remains on edge about police and community relations.

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New urgency for Cleveland security after France truck attack

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Cleveland on Friday set up concrete traffic dividers and tall metal fences around next week's Republican National Convention site, measures meant to thwart an attacker like one in France who drove a truck into a crowd, killing more than 80 people.

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Wildfires rage across Southwest, forcing home evacuations

(Reuters) - Several destructive wildfires were raging across the Southwestern United States on Saturday, after consuming dozens of homes and forcing evacuations.

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FAA bans flights from Turkey to U.S. after failed coup

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has prohibited all airlines from flying from Turkey to the United States, it said on Saturday, after a failed coup sparked violence and a government crackdown there.

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White former Atlanta policeman charged in the death of unarmed black man

ATLANTA (Reuters) - A white former Atlanta police officer was charged on Friday in the shooting death of an unarmed black man who he said was fleeing the scene of a crime and put his life in danger, claims that were refuted by investigators, a prosecutor said.

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Texas father, son among scores killed in France attack: reports

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A Texan and his 11-year-old son on a family vacation were among at least 84 people killed when an attacker crashed a heavy truck through crowds celebrating Bastille Day in the French seaside city of Nice, officials said on Friday.

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Takata settles Florida air bag injury lawsuit

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawyers for a Florida woman who was left a quadriplegic after a Takata air bag inflator deployed in a 2014 crash said Friday they had settled a lawsuit against the Japanese company.

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Nurse in U.S. protest photo says she felt she had to face police

(Reuters) - The black woman photographed in a sleeveless summer dress standing firmly before police in riot gear said she felt compelled to confront the officers during a protest last weekend in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

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Congress to receive 28 classified pages of 9/11 report today: Pelosi

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress will receive on Friday 28 classified pages of a U.S. congressional report into the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said.

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Baltimore officers exchange gunfire with armed man, kill him: police

(Reuters) - Baltimore police officers fatally shot a man armed with a semi-automatic rifle who exchanged fire with them on Thursday on the city's West Side, a police spokesman said.

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U.S. prosecutors launch review of failed FedEx drug case

SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice has begun a rare internal examination of what went wrong in the prosecution of a controversial drug conspiracy case against delivery service Federal Express , the department's top prosecutor in San Francisco told Reuters.

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Obama responds to critics in conversation on race and police

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday responded to critics who charged he has not done enough to show support for law enforcement officers after two years of protests against incidents of violence by police against the black community.

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Trump backers sue San Jose for allowing 'mob' assault last month

(Reuters) - Police in the California city of San Jose, motivated by the political leanings of city officials, allowed an angry mob to assault Donald Trump supporters as they left a rally for the presumptive Republican presidential candidate last month, a lawsuit filed on Thursday alleges.

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Cleveland activists wary of city plans to process thousands of arrests

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Police in Cleveland say they aim to avoid mass arrests at the protests planned for next week's Republican National Convention, but preparations by the city's courts to process up to 1,000 people a day have some civil rights activists worried.

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Ex-drug executive Shkreli to face U.S. fraud trial in June 2017

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Martin Shkreli, the former pharmaceutical executive who last year became a lightning rod for criticism of soaring prescription drug prices, is now scheduled to go on trial in June 2017 in the U.S. government's securities fraud case against him.

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Protesters keeping kids away from Cleveland Republican convention

(Reuters) - A Milwaukee-based immigrants rights group canceled plans to take children to demonstrations outside the Republican National Convention, which starts on Monday, citing fears of violence after last week's shootings in Dallas.

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U.S. can withhold defendants' mug shots, appeals court says

(Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Thursday said the U.S. government can withhold mug shots of federal criminal defendants from the media, citing the privacy interests of those depicted.

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Energy companies spend big to fight Colorado ballot initiatives

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Energy companies in Colorado are spending millions of dollars to derail a push by environmentalists to put measures on November's ballot that would stifle oil and gas drilling in the state, according to a Reuters review of campaign finance records.

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On the sidelines of the 2016 presidential campaign

(Reuters) - For the scores of photographers on the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign trail, capturing the characters, the color and the vibe of the election often means turning away from the speaker on the podium.

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Closing pitches made in Baltimore cop's trial for Freddie Gray death

BALTIMORE (Reuters) - Prosecution and defense lawyers made closing arguments on Wednesday in the manslaughter trial of the highest-ranking Baltimore police officer charged in the death of black detainee Freddie Gray.

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Break-in reported at Orlando nightclub, one month after deadly rampage

(Reuters) - The Florida nightclub where the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history occurred last month was broken into just hours after police released the business back to its owners on Wednesday, Orlando police said on Twitter.

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FBI, Homeland Security chiefs preparing for violence at political conventions

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and FBI Director James Comey told lawmakers on Thursday that they were preparing their agencies for the possibility of violence, both from unruly demonstrators and terrorists, at the upcoming Republican and Democratic nominating conventions.

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Explosions kill at least one person in eastern Nevada town

(Reuters) - Two explosions rocked a small community in rural eastern Nevada on Wednesday night, killing at least one person, authorities said on Thursday.

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FBI director says four arrested in last month for Islamic State plots

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The FBI has arrested four people within the last month in order to disrupt Islamic State-inspired plots, FBI Director James Comey told a panel of U.S. lawmakers on Thursday.

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Chinese man to serve U.S. prison term for military hacking

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Chinese businessman who pleaded guilty in March to conspiring to hack into the computer networks of Boeing and other major U.S. defense contractors was sentenced on Wednesday to nearly four years in prison, prosecutors said.

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San Francisco officer involved in shooting moved to reform bureau

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - San Francisco police have gone ahead with the transfer of an officer who was involved in the fatal shooting of a homeless man earlier this year to an internal bureau focused on reforming the agency, police said on Wednesday.

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CIA director says he would resign if ordered to resume waterboarding

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - CIA Director John Brennan said on Wednesday he would resign if the next president ordered his agency to resume waterboarding suspected militants, an apparent reference to comments by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump embracing the banned interrogation method."I can say that as long as I'm director of CIA, irrespective of what the president says, I'm not going to be the director of CIA that gives that order. They'll have to find another director," said Brennan,

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New Black Panther Party denies it will carry arms before GOP convention

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The chairman of the New Black Panther Party issued a statement on Wednesday saying that the organization was not instructing its members to carry weapons at a black unity rally this week in advance of the Republican national convention in Cleveland.

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House panel subpoenas New York, Massachusetts attorneys general

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. House of Representatives panel on Wednesday issued subpoenas to the attorneys general of New York and Massachusetts to force them to submit information on their investigations into whether Exxon Mobil misled investors on climate change risks, accusing the attorneys general of having a political agenda.

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Pokemon Go blamed for crimes but also aids embattled U.S. police

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Pokemon Go craze is blamed for several robberies of distracted mobile phone players, but the game's cartoon characters have also helped U.S. police improve strained community relations and even arrest wanted suspects.

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First funerals held for Dallas police slain in racially motivated ambush

DALLAS (Reuters) - Thousands of police officers joined by ordinary citizens attended funerals on Wednesday for three of the policemen shot dead in a racially motivated ambush attack last week that intensified America's long-running debate on race and justice.

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Transgender bathroom fight set to reach Supreme Court

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The legal fight over whether transgender people can use public bathrooms that reflect their gender identity is set to reach the U.S. Supreme Court for the first time on Wednesday in a case involving a Virginia high school student who was born a girl but now identifies as male.

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Tom Brady loses bid for new hearing in 'Deflategate' case

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New England Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady on Wednesday lost a bid for a new hearing before a U.S. appeals court on his "Deflategate" four-game suspension, a decision that could mark the end of his legal fight.

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Shooting of three men in Virginia captured by Facebook Live camera

(Reuters) - Three Virginia men were wounded by a hail of gunfire in a shooting recorded on Facebook Live video, police said on Wednesday, another example of the phenomenon of violence being streamed online.

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U.S. arms sales approvals on track to reach nearly $40 billion

FARNBOROUGH, England (Reuters) - The U.S. government is on track to approve nearly $40 billion in foreign military sales in the 2016 fiscal year that ends October 1, down from $46.6 billion last year, a top Pentagon official said on Wednesday.

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Accused Islamic State sympathizer pleads innocent in Arizona plot

PHOENIX (Reuters) - An Arizona teenager accused of being an Islamic State sympathizer pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges of plotting to attack a Phoenix-area state motor vehicle office with bombs and other weapons and was ordered kept in jail without bond.

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Cleveland keeping low police profile for Republican convention

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - As dozens of Black Lives Matter protesters chanted: "No justice, no peace!" in central Cleveland on Monday, they faced down a wall of police - on bicycles, dressed in polo shirts and shorts.

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U.S. safety agency seeks answers on fatal Tesla Autopilot crash

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. highway safety regulators have demanded that Tesla Motors Inc hand over detailed information about the design, operation and testing of its Autopilot technology following a May 7 fatal crash in which the system was in use.

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Police chase tips on San Diego serial killer targeting homeless men

(Reuters) - San Diego police on Tuesday were chasing tips pouring in about an apparent serial killer targeting homeless men, officials said, a day after a former suspect was released over a lack of evidence.

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U.S. Capitol complex on lockdown: Capitol police

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Capitol and all buildings in the Capitol complex were placed on lockdown on Tuesday as authorities investigated a report of someone with a weapon outside the building, U.S. Capitol police said.

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Protests, U.S. gun violence worry some black travelers from abroad

NEW YORK (Reuters) - With protests hitting many U.S. cities, the deadly ambush of Dallas police, and the ever-present threat of gun violence, four countries have urged citizens to be on alert if visiting the United States, and some black travelers are worried about making the trip.

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FBI closes books on legendary D.B. Cooper skyjacking of 1971

(Reuters) - The unsolved investigation of the 1971 hijacking of a Seattle-bound airliner and the disappearance of the enigmatic, dapper suspect dubbed D.B. Cooper, is now officially one for the history books, not the FBI.

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U.S. gay gun group's membership surges after Orlando killings

SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) - At a local shooting range, the 23-year-old president of the Salt Lake City chapter of Pink Pistols, a national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender gun club, helps a tattooed member improve his marksmanship.

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Lynch says Justice Department ready to assist Michigan after shooting

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said on Tuesday that the Justice Department stands ready to assist local law enforcement in the aftermath of a deadly shooting in a Michigan courthouse on Monday.

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Exclusive: New Black Panther Party says to carry arms in Cleveland if legal

(Reuters) - The chairman of the New Black Panther Party, a "black power" movement, said his group will carry arms for self-defense during protests at the Republican convention next week if allowed under Ohio law.

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Dallas police chief says armed civilians in Texas 'increasingly challenging'

DALLAS (Reuters) - The Dallas police chief stepped into America's fierce gun rights debate on Monday when he said Texas state laws allowing civilians to carry firearms openly, as some did during a protest where five officers were killed, presented a growing law enforcement challenge.

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Five people suspected of shooting at police arrested in Washington DC

(Reuters) - Five people suspected of shooting at police officers before barricading themselves inside a vehicle in Washington D.C. were arrested on Tuesday, police said.

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Jailed U.S. soldier Manning attempted suicide last week: lawyers

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chelsea Manning, the U.S. soldier imprisoned for leaking classified files to pro-transparency site WikiLeaks, attempted to commit suicide last week, her lawyers said on Monday.

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Obama to meet with police, civil rights leaders on Wednesday: White House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will host a meeting with law enforcement officials, activists and civil rights leaders on Wednesday to discuss ways to repair "the bonds of trust" between communities and police, the White House said on Monday.

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Nurse, mother describes her Baton Rouge arrest as 'the work of God'

(Reuters) - The black woman in the photograph stands in calm protest, her long dress fluttering in the breeze as two policemen clad in the heavy black padding and helmets of riot gear rush to remove her from the middle of a street in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

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Police officer, others shot outside Michigan courthouse: reports

(Reuters) - Several people, including a police officer, were shot outside the Berrien County courthouse in the town of St. Joseph in southwest Michigan on Monday, according to reports on NBC and CNN, citing law enforcement.

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Missouri teens used Pokemon Go to lure robbery victims: police

(Reuters) - Popular new mobile game Pokemon Go was used by four teens in Missouri to lure nearly a dozen victims into armed robberies, police and media reports said on Monday.

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Starbucks to increase wages for U.S. workers in October

(Reuters) - Starbucks Corp said on Monday it will raise the wages of all employees in its U.S. stores by 5-15 percent this year through an increase in base pay and stock awards.

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Blue Lives Matter: Dallas protesters embrace the force that took bullets for them

DALLAS (Reuters) - Dallas police detective Frederick Frazier strained to lift the dead weight of a fallen fellow officer from a hospital gurney and put him into a body bag. He pulled the zipper closed.

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After Dallas shooting, U.S. police forces rethinking tactics

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Police departments across the United States are searching for new tactics for a more difficult era of racial tension, increasingly lethal mass shootings and global terrorism.

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Dallas mother thanks police for shielding her and her son

DALLAS (Reuters) - When the bullet struck her leg during the protest in downtown Dallas, Shetamia Taylor's first thoughts were for her four sons.

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Dallas police chief defends decision to use robot to kill gunman

(Reuters) - The chief of the Dallas Police Department vigorously defended the use of a bomb mounted on a robot to kill a gunman who shot to death five officers during a march to protest police violence against African-Americans.

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Obama says activists who attack police hurt Black Lives Matter cause

MADRID (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Sunday that attacks on police out of a concern about the fairness of the criminal justice system hurt the Black Lives Matter movement, after a sniper killed five police officers in Dallas on Thursday.

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Protests over shootings by police spread to more U.S. cities

BATON ROUGE, La./MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - Mostly peaceful protests against recent shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota by police officers spread to several U.S. cities on Saturday, though a protest in Baton Rouge saw scuffles between protesters and police.

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Dallas police headquarters under lockdown after threat

DALLAS (Reuters) - The Dallas police headquarters and the surrounding blocks were placed under lockdown on Saturday, and SWAT teams were deployed throughout the area, after the department received an anonymous threat against officers citywide.

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U.S. Army reservist named as lone gunman in Dallas police ambush

DALLAS (Reuters) - A U.S. Army reservist who served in Afghanistan, embraced militant black nationalism and professed a desire to "kill white people" has been named by authorities as the lone gunman in a sniper attack on police in Dallas that left five officers dead.

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Houston police shoot dead black man pointing a gun in street

(Reuters) - Two Houston police officers fatally shot an African-American man who pointed a gun at them despite their commands that he lower his weapon, authorities said on Saturday, two days after five Dallas policemen were slain by a black military veteran.

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Beyond Dallas, police come under fire in three states

(Reuters) - Police came under fire in three U.S. states on Thursday and Friday, authorities said, possibly prompted by the same motivation behind the rampage in Dallas: police use of force against black people.

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Thousands take to streets across U.S. to protest police violence

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Thousands of people took to the streets in U.S. cities on Friday to denounce the fatal police shootings of two black men this week, marching the day after a gunman killed five police officers watching over a similar demonstration in Dallas.

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Florida congresswoman indicted in fraud scheme: U.S. prosecutors

TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - A federal grand jury indicted U.S. Representative Corrine Brown of Florida and her chief of staff on fraud charges and other crimes, accusing them of funneling money for a bogus education charity to personal use, U.S. prosecutors said on Friday.

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Minnesota prosecutor says police practices must change after shooting

ST. PAUL, Minn. (Reuters) - A county prosecutor investigating the police shooting of a black motorist in Minnesota on Friday said law enforcement authorities in his state and nationwide must improve practices and procedures to prevent future such tragedies, regardless of the outcome of his probe.

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U.S. Representative Brown charged with fraud: Justice Department

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Representative Corrine Brown, a Democrat from Florida, and her chief of staff were indicted on Friday for their roles in a scheme involving a fraudulent education charity, the U.S. Justice Department said.

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San Diego police arrest suspect in deadly attacks on homeless people

(Reuters) - A man has been arrested on suspicion of being involved in the killing of two homeless men and attacks on two other transients in San Diego this week, the mayor said in a statement.

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U.S. Capitol reopens after brief lockdown due to police activity

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Police briefly ordered a lockdown of the U.S. Capitol because of police activity on Friday, and a Senate aide said officers were searching for a woman who may have a weapon in a basement area near the U.S. House of Representatives.

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Two police officers shot at protest in Dallas: local TV

(Reuters) - Two police officers were shot in Texas on Thursday during a protest against police shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana, KDFW TV in Dallas reported.

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Wave of anti-police protests strains U.S. law enforcement

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A wave of anti-police protests since the 2014 killing of an unarmed black teen in Ferguson, Missouri, is creating strains at law enforcement agencies across the United States, forcing out some police chiefs and top prosecutors.

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Obama says more must be done to address U.S. police shootings

WARSAW, Poland (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday made an impassioned plea for the nation to do more to address the combative relationship between local police forces and the black and Hispanic communities they serve, after the shootings of two black men by police in Minnesota and Louisiana in two days.

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U.S. lawmakers blast Obama administration over ex-Guantanamo prisoner

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers sharply criticized President Barack Obama's administration on Thursday over the disappearance of a former Guantanamo detainee, calling for an end to transfers from the prison because of fears former prisoners could launch attacks on Americans.

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House Speaker Ryan: all options on table over Democrats' gun sit-in

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said on Thursday "all options" were being considered over the possible discipline of House Democrats for protests they held on the House floor to call for action on gun-control measures.

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Florida investigators found laptop in Tesla after fatal crash

(Reuters) - Investigators found a laptop computer in the Tesla Model S sedan involved in a fatal crash on May 7, the Florida Highway Patrol said on Thursday.

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University of Texas professors sue to block guns in classrooms

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Three University of Texas professors have filed a federal lawsuit to halt a state law that would allow holders of concealed handgun licenses to bring pistols into classrooms, saying the measure would have a devastating effect on academic discourse.

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Top Senate Democrat predicts Zika funding bill will fail again

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid warned on Thursday that Democrats would defeat a partisan measure intended to combat the Zika virus and called on the House of Representatives to allow a vote on a different measure that has bipartisan support.

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U.S. proposes United, Delta, American airlines fly nonstop to Havana

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Thursday proposed eight airlines including United Continental Holdings Inc, Delta Air Lines Inc, American Airlines Group Inc (AAL.O> and JetBlue Airlines Corp to start nonstop flights from the United States to Havana, Cuba as early as this fall, administration officials said.

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Cosby returns to court to seek dismissal of sex assault charges

(Reuters) - Bill Cosby is set to return to a Pennsylvania criminal court on Thursday, when the comedian's lawyers will mount their latest attempt to have the sexual assault case against him thrown out.

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Minneapolis area police fatally shoot black man during traffic stop

(Reuters) - A suburban Minneapolis police officer fatally shot a black man on Wednesday during a traffic stop, police said, and a woman posted a video on the internet saying he had been reaching for his license and showing what she described as the aftermath of the incident.

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Highest-ranking Baltimore officer in Freddie Gray case faces trial

(Reuters) - The highest-ranking Baltimore police officer charged in the death of black detainee Freddie Gray goes on trial on Thursday with Maryland prosecutors still seeking their first conviction in the high-profile case.

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Baltimore saw steep fall in police numbers as murder rate soared

(Reuters) - Already beset by a public outcry over the high-profile death of a black man in police custody and a rising murder rate, Baltimore's police department is facing another headache: it's shrinking fast.

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Trump rejects criticism, vents at news media in campaign speech

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Wednesday rejected criticism of his campaign tactics, in a wide-ranging speech defending his team's use of a Jewish star and his own praise of the late Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

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Thirteen U.S. states ask court to halt transgender bathroom policy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Thirteen states that have sued the Obama administration over its policy on transgender access to bathrooms asked a federal court in Texas on Wednesday to prevent the administration from enforcing the policy while their lawsuit proceeds.

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DuPont ordered to pay $5.1 million in trial over Teflon-making chemical

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. jury on Wednesday ordered DuPont to pay $5.1 million to a man who said he developed testicular cancer from exposure to a toxic chemical used to make Teflon at one of its plants, according to a DuPont spokesman.

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Imprisoned U.S. soldier Chelsea Manning hospitalized in Kansas

(Reuters) - U.S. soldier Chelsea Manning, imprisoned for handing over classified files to pro-transparency site WikiLeaks, was hospitalized, her attorney said on Wednesday, after media reports that Manning had attempted to commit suicide.

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Ex-Fox News host sues CEO Roger Ailes claiming sexual harassment

(Reuters) - Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson sued Fox News Chairman and Chief Executive Roger Ailes on Wednesday claiming sexual harassment and that he wrongfully fired her after years of making unwanted advances.

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U.S. recalls over 500,000 hoverboards over battery fires

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ten companies are recalling about 501,000 hoverboards after numerous reports of the self-balancing scooters' batteries catching fire, the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission said on Wednesday.

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U.S. court to hear arguments in warrantless NSA spying case

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court will weigh a constitutional challenge on Wednesday to a warrantless government surveillance program brought by an Oregon man found guilty of attempting to detonate a bomb in 2010 during a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony.

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Ryan says Clinton may have gotten preferential treatment from FBI

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Wednesday that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton may have been given preferential treatment from the FBI in its investigation of her use of a private email server and should not receive classified information during her campaign.

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U.S. Senate leader says will try again to pass Zika bill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate will make another attempt to pass a bill dealing with the Zika virus during the current session, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday.

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U.S. to allocate $10 million to non-profits, colleges to fight extremism

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will announce on Wednesday $10 million in grants for non-profit organizations and colleges to develop counseling programs and other services to turn people away from violent extremism, according to a senior DHS official.

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FBI Director Comey to testify before House panel on Thursday

(Reuters) - FBI Director James Comey is set to testify before the U.S. House Oversight Committee on Thursday about the agency's decision not to recommend charges against Hillary Clinton over her use of a personal email server while serving at the State Department, the panel said in a statement.

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Clinton 'extremely careless' with emails, but FBI recommends no charges

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The FBI recommended on Tuesday that no criminal charges be filed over Hillary Clinton's use of private email servers while she was secretary of state, but rebuked the Democratic U.S. presidential candidate for "extremely careless" handling of classified information.

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Louisiana protesters demand justice for black man shot by police

(Reuters) - Dozens of protesters in Louisiana on Tuesday chanted slogans and held up signs demanding justice for a black man fatally shot in an altercation with two police officers hours earlier, video postings on social media showed.

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Tesla told regulators about Autopilot crash nine days after accident

SAN FRANCISCO/DETROIT (Reuters) - Tesla Motors alerted regulators to a fatality in one of its electric cars in partial self-driving Autopilot mode nine days after it crashed, the company said on Tuesday, defending its decision not to make the accident public before a federal investigation was announced.

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University of Tennessee settles sex assault suit for almost $2.5 million

(Reuters) - The University of Tennessee has settled for $2.48 million a lawsuit involving eight women who argued the school allowed a hostile sexual culture to fester, which led to sexual assaults by student-athletes.

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U.S. Republicans push back on Democratic gun-control efforts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. congressional Republican leaders on Tuesday resisted Democratic demands for a vote on gun-control measures and warned that some could face punishment for an unusual sit-in last month that tied up the House of Representatives for 25 hours.

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FBI says conducting 30 undisclosed insider trading probes

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The FBI in New York City has undisclosed probes into about 30 suspected insider trading schemes, the agency said, in a sign investigators remains focused on building cases despite a court ruling that could curtail such prosecutions.

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Four U.S. airports to open automated security lanes this fall

(Reuters) - Four major U.S. airports plan to speed up security checks by automating the distribution of bins for travelers' carry-on bags, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and American Airlines Group Inc said on Tuesday.

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Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, Illinois reformer Mikva dies

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Abner Mikva, who served as a White House adviser, federal judge, congressman and mentor to President Barack Obama, has died at age 90, his Chicago non-profit organization said on Tuesday.

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Edsel Ford II arrested in Michigan for domestic violence: reports

(Reuters) - Edsel Ford II, a member of the board of directors for Ford Motor Co and the great grandson of company founder Henry Ford, was arrested in suburban Detroit on domestic violence charges, local media reported on Tuesday.

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Fourth Baltimore officer opts for bench trial in Freddie Gray death

BALTIMORE (Reuters) - The fourth Baltimore police officer facing charges in the death of black detainee Freddie Gray opted for a bench trial on Tuesday as prosecutors seek their first conviction in the high-profile case.

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Ford 2011-2015 Explorers probed by U.S. on possible exhaust leaks

DETROIT (Reuters) - U.S. safety officials from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have opened an investigation into possible exposure to carbon monoxide in recent models of the Ford Motor Co Explorer SUVs, the regulator's website showed on Tuesday.

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Rome police detain homeless man over killing of American student

ROME (Reuters) - A homeless Italian man was detained on Tuesday on suspicion of murdering 19-year-old American university student Beau Solomon, police said.

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NASA's Juno spacecraft loops into orbit around Jupiter

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - NASA's Juno spacecraft capped a five-year journey to Jupiter late Monday with a do-or-die engine burn to sling itself into orbit, setting the stage for a 20-month dance around the biggest planet in the solar system to learn how and where it formed.

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Two Muslim teens beaten outside New York mosque: rights group

(Reuters) - Two Muslim teenagers were beaten outside a New York City mosque by an attacker who shouted slurs at them, a rights group said on Monday, calling for police to investigate the incident as a bias crime.

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Charges weighed after Ohio incident triggers Emirati warning on robes

(Reuters) - The mayor of an Ohio town at the center of an incident that prompted the United Arab Emirates to warn citizens against wearing traditional robes abroad apologized and said on Monday some of those involved could face criminal charges.

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American university student found dead in Rome in possible homicide

ROME (Reuters) - The body of an American university student who went missing in Rome three days ago was found in the Tiber River on Monday, and police said they were not ruling out homicide.

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Tourist badly hurt by blast from homemade firework in New York's Central Park

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A 19-year-old tourist in Manhattan's Central Park suffered a severe foot wound on Sunday after an apparent homemade firework exploded when he jumped off a rock and stepped on the device, authorities said.

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Bomber killed, two police wounded in blast outside U.S. consulate in Jeddah

RIYADH (Reuters) - A suicide bomber was killed and two other people wounded in a blast near the U.S. consulate in Saudi Arabia's second city of Jeddah early on Monday, state TV said, the first bombing in years to attempt to target foreigners in the kingdom.

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It wouldn’t be the 4th of July without Willie Nelson's moveable ‘picnic’

AUSTIN, Texas - It is an on again, occasionally off again American tradition from the 1970s that has filled football stadiums and sun-baked Texas ranches, with one constant - country music legend Willie Nelson celebrating Independence Day with a music-packed picnic.

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Man wounded in shooting outside Houston mosque: report

(Reuters) - A doctor headed for morning prayers at a Houston mosque was reportedly ambushed by three masked men who shot and wounded him on Sunday, a day after a Muslim man was beaten outside a Florida mosque.

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California wildfire prompts new round of evacuations

(Reuters) - A new wildfire burning through bone-dry grass, shrub and timber has forced the evacuation of dozens of homes in a mountain community in central California and more houses could be in the inferno's path, fire officials said on Saturday.

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Californians seek pot of gold in marijuana legalization

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - There is no guarantee California will vote to legalize recreational marijuana in November, but political operative and father of four Daniel Conway has already staked his future on it.

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Muslim man beaten outside Florida mosque attended by Orlando gunman

(Reuters) - A Muslim man was beaten on Saturday outside a Florida mosque attended by the gunman who killed 49 people at an Orlando nightclub, though authorities and a Muslim civil rights group differed as to whether the attack was racially motivated.

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Tennessee mother charged after four children stabbed dead

(Reuters) - A Tennessee woman was charged on Saturday in the stabbing deaths of her four children under the age of five, the Shelby County sheriff said.

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Hundreds evacuated in Detroit suburb after gas explosion

(Reuters) - Hundreds of people were briefly evacuated from their homes in the Michigan town of Melvindale on Saturday morning after a car hit a natural gas main at a DTE Energy facility and caused an explosion and fire, police said.

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Tesla crash raises concerns about autonomous vehicle regulation

(Reuters) - The fatal crash of a Tesla Motors Inc Model S in Autopilot mode has turned up pressure on auto industry executives and regulators to ensure that automated driving technology is deployed safely.

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New York City deploys new explosive-sniffing dogs for fourth July

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City will deploy its first class of police dogs trained to trace vapor trails left behind by would-be bombers as part of stepped-up security measures to protect the country's largest city during the Fourth of July weekend.

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California tightens gun control laws, expands assault weapons ban

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - California Governor Jerry Brown on Friday signed a sweeping package of gun control bills, banning high-capacity ammunition magazines and expanding the definition of prohibited assault weapons in the wake of mass shootings in San Bernardino and Orlando.

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Al Qaeda leader warns of 'gravest consequences' if Boston bomber executed

CAIRO (Reuters) - Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri has warned the United States of the "gravest consequences" if Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev or any other Muslim prisoner is executed.

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DVD player found in Tesla car in May crash: Florida officials

(Reuters) - A digital video disc player was found in the Tesla car that was on autopilot when its driver was killed in a collision with a truck in May, Florida Highway Patrol officials said on Friday.

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Federal judge blocks Florida law to end abortion clinic funding

TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - A federal judge has blocked parts of a new Florida law aiming to cut off state funding for preventive health services at clinics that also provide abortions, acting shortly before the restrictions took effect on Friday.

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U.S. sued over background check error in Charleston church shooting: newspaper

CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) - Family members of the people killed in an attack on a South Carolina church last year have sued the U.S. government over an FBI clerk's mistake that allowed the purchase of the gun used in the shooting, the Post and Courier newspaper reported on Friday.

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Traffic deaths jump 7.7 percent in 2015 to 35,200

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. traffic deaths rose 7.7 percent in 2015 over the previous year to 35,200, the highest number of people killed on U.S. roads since 2008, the government's preliminary estimate reviewed by Reuters shows.

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Judge blocks Mississippi law allowing denial of services to LGBT people

(Reuters) - A day before it was due to come into effect, a federal judge has blocked a Mississippi law permitting those with religious objections to deny wedding services to same-sex couples and impose dress and bathroom restrictions on transgender people.

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Mega Millions jackpot grows to $415 million, 10th largest in U.S. history

(Reuters) - The Mega Millions jackpot on Friday grew to $415 million ahead of the 11 p.m. EST evening drawing, making it the 10th largest in U.S. history and the third largest in the game's history, according to lottery officials.

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